Lawrence Summerset
She'd never actually seen a butler outside of old videos, but this didn't disappoint the old fantasy. --Eve Dallas Introduction Lawrence Summerset is Roarke's butler and first appears in Naked in Death on February 15, 2058.Naked in Death (ISBN 0-425-14829-7), pp. 18, 68 Descriptions *Caucasian with pale skin; he wears dark suits and old-fashioned ties. *In Glory in Death, he wore glossy black shoes, smoke-colored, pip-stemmed pants, and a short, stiff, jacket.Glory in Death (ISBN 0-425-15098-4), pp. 164, 165 *Long face;Glory in Death (ISBN 0-425-15098-4), p. 16 thin lipsVengeance in Death (ISBN 0-425-16039-4), p. 310 *Tall bony body; thin fingers and elegant hands.Glory in Death (ISBN 0-425-15098-4), p. 16 A tall, skinny guy;Salvation in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15522-2), p. 277 a skinny, black-clad presence with a bony face and a stiff, skinny back.Promises in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15548-2), pp. 66, 220 *"Summerset's eyes, which had gone black as onyx ... narrowed."Betrayal in Death (ISBN 0-425-17857-9), p. 87 *Bony fingers ... knife edged pleats in trousers Vengeance in Death (ISBN 0-425-16039-4), p. 78 *Summerset stood, bony in black, skull face impassive.Kindred in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15595-6), p. 124 Personality *He initially disapproves of Eve – he despised Eve and didn't trouble himself to hide it.Glory in Death (ISBN 0-425-15098-4), p. 16 **After Morris showed up on their doorstep and Eve spoke with him, Summerset said he was proud of her.Promises in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15548-2), p. 220 *Summerset is very fond of Mavis and tends to cater to whatever she wants on her visits by treating her very affectionately. He gives Mavis away at her wedding in Born in Death, and loans her his own wife's ring, a further indication of his affectionate feelings for Mavis. **Summerset seemed struck dumb on his first meeting with Mavis.Glory in Death (ISBN 0-425-15098-4), pp. 155, 156 *According to Roarke, Summerset has a soft spot for troubled children.Survivor in Death (ISBN 0-425-20418-9), p. 78 *Roarke's man of just about everything.Kindred in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15595-6), p. 11 History *His given name was Basil Kolchek. After the death of his daughter Marlena Kolchek, he began using the alias Lawrence Summerset. Roarke recalls "Sommerset [sic] had come into existence only weeks after Marlena's death."Judgment in Death (ISBN 0-425-17630-4), p. 256 *During the series' fictional "Urban Wars", a time of urban unrest, Summerset served as a medic ("somewhat unofficially"). For a few months during that time, Summerset worked in London for the title doctor from Origin in Death, Wilfred B. Icove Sr..Origin in Death, chapter 5. *Summerset, and his daughter Marlena, met Roarke when Marlena was age eight and Roarke was 10 (actually nine). They ran cons together. Shortly after, he found Roarke in an alley after a particularly brutal beating from his father. He saved him and nursed him back to health.Immortal in Death (ISBN 0-425-15378-9), pp. 89, 90 **Roarke tells Eve that "I don’t know, not really, who he was before he saved me, took me in."Delusion in Death, Chapter 13. *When Roarke was fifteen (adjusted age), he was running a small gambling ring; a violent rival syndicate wanted him gone. They figured that the best way to deliver the message was through Marlena, Summerset's fourteen-year old daughter. The six men raped, murdered, and mutilated Marlena, then dumped her body on their doorstep. Afterward, Roarke hunted those six men from 2042 to 2044, tortured and murdered them.Immortal in Death (ISBN 0-425-15378-9), pp. 90, 91; Vengeance in Death (ISBN 0-425-16039-4), p. 121 **Summerset told Eve, "The loss of a child goes deeper than any. It doesn't pass the way other losses may. However the loss came, a parent looks inward. What could I have done, what didn't I do? When the loss comes from violence, there are more questions. Every answer you give him is both pain and comfort, but there can't be any comfort without the pain."Kindred in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15595-6), p. 143 *When Roarke came to the U.S., he brought Summerset with him, asking Summerset to become his butler. He thinks of Summerset as a father. *When Eve asked Summerset if he killed Patrick Roarke, Summerset said there was no statute of limitations on murder. When she pressed the point, Summerset then said he had children to protect. She finally said that Roarke didn't know, did he ... that Summerset never told him. He only answered Eve that there was nothing to tell. That it was old business. And she should be off, taking care of new.Portrait in Death (ISBN 0-425-18903-1), p. 236 (Find Nora's comments on this here.) Nicknames/Insulting Comments *Eve speculates that Summerset graduated cum laude from Tight-Ass University.Born in Death (ISBN 978-0-425-21568-5), p. 240 *Summerset's nicknames: **Bony Ass – Given by EveStrangers in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15470-6), p. 126 **Count Boredom – Given by JamieCeremony in Death (ISBN 0-425-15762-8), p. 118 **Creepshow – Given by EveVisions in Death (ISBN 0-425-20300-X), p. 68 **Dark Shadow – Given by EveBorn in Death (ISBN 978-0-425-21568-5), p. 195 **Flat Ass – Given by EveStrangers in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15470-6), p. 193 ** His Boniness – Given by EveCreation in Death (ISBN 978-0-425-22102-0), p. 163; Strangers in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15470-6), p. 55 **Mr. ScaryKindred in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15595-6), p. 86 **Mr. Grace and Agility – Given by EvePortrait in Death (ISBN 0-425-18903-1), p. 51 **Mr. Macabre" - Give by Eve Missing in Death (ISBN 978-0-515-14718-6), p. 46 **Nancy – Given by EveMemory in Death (ISBN 0-425-21073-1), p. 36 **Scarecrow – Given by EveInnocent in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15401-0), p. 264; Creation in Death (ISBN 978-0-425-22102-0), p. 251 **The (Mr.) Walking Dead – Given by Jamie,Purity in Death (ISBN 0-425-18630-X), p. 197 used by Eve Origin in Death (ISBN 978-0-7499-3634-1), p. 59 **His Scariness – given by EvePromises in Death (ISBN 978-0-7499-2896-4), p. 139 **Ugly Guy - Given by EveDivided in Death (ISBN 978-0-7499-3506-1), p. 152 (See also Eve and Summerset Insults) Interesting Facts *We do not learn his full name until later in the series. *Has a faint accent that sounds both British and Slavic.Naked in Death (ISBN 0-425-14829-7), p. 68 *Mildly Unitarian.Vengeance in Death (ISBN 0-425-16039-4), p. 82 *He's right handed.Betrayal in Death (ISBN 0-425-17857-9), p. 286 *He listens to Chopin.Portrait in Death (ISBN 0-425-18903-1), p. 138 *Summerset told Nixie Swisher that he believes that, after death, the spirit or soul has choices. That some may decide to go on to a place of peace or some may choose to come back and live again. According to him, we may decide to do this because we want to do better than we did before, or right some wrong we might have done. Or simply because we're not quite ready to go to that place of peace. When he was asked if he had ever recognized somebody who had died before he said he thinks he has. But there's one he keeps hoping he might recognize one day Marlena, though he hasn't found her, yet. Perhaps she went to that place of peace, instead.Survivor in Death (ISBN 0-425-20418-9), p. 248 *Summerset keeps a photo of Marlena and Roarke in a bedroom drawer.Survivor in Death (ISBN 0-425-20418-9), p. 304 *According to Eve, the man could bakeMemory in Death (ISBN 0-425-21073-1), p. 279 and, though he might be a pain in her ass, the man could cook.Strangers in Death (ISBN 978-0-399-15470-6), p. 56 **Eve tells Summerset to tell the cook there will be two for dinner (after she invites Mavis over).Glory in Death (ISBN 0-425-15098-4), p. 155 * Summerset was supposed to start a vacation at the beginning of Portrait in Death, but fell and broke his leg, which changed the timeline of his vacation.Portrait in Death (ISBN 0-425-18903-1), p. 6 YANNI *Vacation Timeline **In Portrait in Death (Summer, 2059), Summerset left for his vacation.Portrait in Death (ISBN 0-425-18903-1), p. 346 In Imitation in Death, he came back from his vacation.Imitation in Death (ISBN 0-425-19158-3), pp. 284, 285 **In Remember When, it's explained that Summerset's vacation hadn't put all the roses back in his cheeks, Roarke sent him away again.Remember When (ISBN 0-425-19547-3), p. 265 Eve thinks, Summerset, her personal bane and Roarke's majordomo, was spending ten days at a recuperation spa off-planetRemember When (ISBN 0-425-19547-3), p. 265 ... then ... Eve later says, "If a certain someone – who shall remain nameless for the next wonderful three weeks – was here to pick up after us ..."Remember When (ISBN 0-425-19547-3), p. 270 References Summerset, Lawrence Summerset, Lawrence Summerset, Lawrence Summerset, Lawrence Summerset, Lawrence